The Believer's Imperative Reaction To Christ's Imminant Return Series

II. Christ's Imminent Return Requires Immediate Worship

?I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” (Revelation 22:8–9)

John had the right theology and the right idea, but what happens here? He falls down and worships the angel. This leads to a rebuke by the angel. “Don’t do that! Worship God!” Look, I don’t think John was being intentionally idolatrous here. I think he did what every person living in this sinful world does - we get off track and worship the wrong thing. We need to be intentional about the reverence of our worship.

“Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their lovingkindness, (Jonah 2:8)

Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)

Idolatry is an affair of the heart. Anything that steals our devotion from God. The Israelites were continually battling the idolatry of their day. There is no difference today, just different names. The Catholic Church worships Mary and the saints. We worship money, sex, the earth, our jobs, and even pastors and our own worship can easily become idolatrous.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:14)

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be inquired by them at all? (Ezekiel 14:3)

The Angel then redirects John with 2 simple words: “Worship God.” Can we take those two simple words to heart today? Worship God. Press in with all our hearts, especially on Sunday as we gather together, but also every day of the week with our lives.

III. Christ's Imminent Return Requires Immediate Exclamation

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 “Let the one who does unrighteousness, still do unrighteousness; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still do righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” (Revelation 22:10–11)

The final behavior of the believer in light of Jesus’ imminent return is our continual exclamation to the world. If we truly believe that Jesus’s return to his church is imminent which ushers in the 7-Year Tribulation and the outpouring of the wrath of God, his love is not in us if we remain silent to our family and friends that remain in sin. You say, yes but they laugh at me or even get angry at me when I share these things. Let them, but be sure you are warning them. Make the truth plain and with the love in your heart.

“Any Christian who fails to learn the truths of this book and to understand the words of this book, which are not at all incomprehensible, as we have learned, is a forfeiting blessing. And any preacher who fails to preach this book of the glorious realities to come in the return of Jesus Christ is sinfully unfaithful to His mandate.” (MacArthur)